Reclosable can



Aug. 20, 1968 w. E. TAYLOR RECLOSABLB CAN Filed July 17, 1967 i a wa,

United States Patent 3,397,807 RECLOSABLE CAN William Edward Taylor, Easton, Md., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 17, 1967, Ser. No. 653,882 Claims. (Cl. 22042) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A reclosable can of the type having an annular upwardly extending throat and a plug with an annular wall to engage the inner surface of the ring, has a plurality of lugs on the plug which engage the top of the double seam to prevent collapse of the throat due to over-assembly or an axial force applied to the lid during shipment or storage or by a shaking apparatus.

Background of the invention One of the more familiar types of reclosable cans in use is one having a ring with an upwardly facing U- shaped channel seamed to the top of the can body and a plug having an annular U-shaped bead which fits snugly within the channel to effect a seal when the plug is pressed down upon the top of the can. Such cans are useful in applications where a large opening is desirable, as when the product is one such as paint, which must be accesible to a stirrer or brush.

Such cans have several inherent disadvantages. For one, the product is difiicult to pour from the can because the U-shaped channel in the ring acts as a baflle to prevent controlled pouring of the product. Another disadvantage is that product invariably finds its way into the channel when poured or when a brush wet with the prodnot is wiped on the ring, so that when the plug is pressed down onto the can to reclose it and the U-shaped bead on the plug descends into the U-shaped channel on the ring, the product retained in the channel splatters. Splattering, of course, is objectonable to the user. Lastly, reopening such a can is often somewhat diflicult because product retained in the channel hardens after the plug has been replaced on the can and thereby makes subsequent removal of the plug from the can difiicult.

All of the disadvantages discussed above have been overcome by designing a can with a ring having a raised annular throat which projects upwardly beyond the double seam and a plug having a recessed portion to provide a cylindrical friction wall which, at its outer surface, engages the inner surface of the throat to provide a seal. The cylindrical wall merges with a depending skirt which extends outwardly of the throat and terminates in a reenforced lower edge which is positioned adjacent the double seam so that a screw driver or other implement can be slid over the double seam to engage the lower edge of the skirt and be used to pry the plug off the can.

The raised throat permits controlled pouring because the product is poured out of the can directly without having to pass over a channel or any other obstacle in the ring. The absence of a channel eliminates the splattering problem and also eliminates the problem of diflicult removal of the plug due to dried product being retained in the channel after prior use of the can. In addition, a can with a raised throat permits better brush-off, that is, removal of excess paint from a brush by wiping it against the inner edge of the ring.

A can of the raised throat type is not without disadvantages. The upstanding throat is inherently weak, and therefore susceptible to permanent distortion when excess axial force is exerted upon the plug. If the axial force is 3,397,807 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 high enough the throat will collapse enough to permit the downwardly extending skirt on the plug to become wedged between the throat and the countersink wall and thereby make subsequent removal of the plug almost impossible. High axial forces can occur during the closing operation unless the operation is carefully performed and also during storage or shipment because of axial loads exerted by cans supported above. Such forces can also occur if the can is used to package a product such as paint, which is mixed by placing the unopened can in a shaking machine to mix the product, because such machines having gripping elements which are tightened down on the can end and if advertently overtightened they will exert an axial force on the plug which is excessive.

Summary The present invention has as its principal object the prevention of distortion to the throat on the ring of a reclosable can wherein the throat extends above the countersink wall when axial forces are exerted on the plug. Prevention of such distortion prevents the outer skirt from becoming wedged between the throat and the countersink wall, a condition which makes subsequent removal of the plug almost impossible. In accordance with this invention logs are provided on the plug to abut against the top of the double seam when the plug is pressed down excessively to thereby transmit an axial load exerted on the plug to the can body and limit the axial force which can be exerted on the throat.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing a can made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the can shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2 with the plug normally seated on the top of the can;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the plug immediately after being forced downwardly by the presser plate of a can closing machine far enough to bring the stop lugs into contact with the top of the double seam.

Description of the preferred embodiment There is shown in FIG. 1 a can indicated generally as 10 having a can body 11 which is closed at one end by a bottom end closure 12 seamed to the can body in a conventional double seam. As shown best in FIGS. 3 and 4, an annular ring 13 is seamed to the can body 11 at its upper end in a conventional double seam 14.

The annular ring 13 includes a countersink wall 15 which forms the inner layer of the double seam 14 and at its bottom end merges into an inwardly and upwardly extending throat 16 which comprises a lower curved wall 17 and an upper cylindrical friction wall 20 which terminates at its uppermost end in an annular outwardly curled head 22.

A sealing .plug, indicated generally as 30, having a recessed central portion 32 defined by a bottom fiat panel 33 and an upstanding annular wall 34, is shown in FIG. 3 as seated on the can 10 so that the recessed portion 32 fits within the annular ring 13 with the outer surface of the plug Wall 34 in sealing frictional engagement with the inner surface of the friction throat Wall 20. The annular wall portion 34 extends upwardly to an annular curved channel portion 36 which extends outwardly from the annular wall portion 34 and merges with an inclined flange portion 38 which in turn merges with an annular downwardly projecting skirt 39. The skirt 39 terminates in an integral reenforcing bead or curl 40 which extends generally outwardly from the skirt 39.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the plug 30 is fully seated on the can so that the outer surface of the annular wall 34 fits snugly against the friction wall 20 and the annular channel portion 36 engages the head 22, the plug can be pressed down no further without causing some distortion of the lower curved wall 17 of the throat 16. As pointed out above, excessive distortion of the ring 13, particularly at the friction wall 20 would make opening and reclosing the container difficult, if not impossible. This is especially true if the bead 40 and skirt 39 become wedged between the countersink wall and the friction wall 20.

In order to prevent permanent distortion of the ring 13, stop lugs 42 are formed in the skirt 39 and extend outwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 2. Each lug 42 extends outwardly far enough so that it overlies the double seam 14 and thus abuts against the top of the double seam 14 in the event the plug is pressed downwardly beyond the position of FIG. 3.

In FIG. 4, the arrangement of parts is shown immediately after a presser plate 50 of a closing apparatus has pushed the plug 30 downwardly until the lugs 42 have engaged the top of the double seam 14. Because of the presence of the lugs 42, the ring 13 is distorted only to a limited degree unless, of course, so much axial force is applied that the lugs 42 are bent or the body wall 11 is collapsed. As shown in FIG. 4, the curved wall 17 of the throat 16 is flattened somewhat by the pressure of the plate 30 so that it has less curvature than shown in FIG. 3, but there is no distortion of the friction wall 20 and the distortion of the curved wall 17 is not nearly enough to cause it to take a permanent set. As a result, the parts return to the position of FIG. 3, when the pressure exerted by the plate 50 is released. The reason for this is that this limited movement of the curved wall 17 which occurs prior to the time the lugs 42 engage the top of the double seam 14 is insufficient to cause the curved wall 17 to distort beyond its elastic limit.

The lugs 42 serve another purpose. Since they are located in close proximity to the double seam 14, they indicate visually when the plug has been pressed down to its optimum position. A large gap between a lug 40 and the top of the double seam 14 indicates that the plug 30 is not pressed down as far as it should be to provide optimum sealing, and a bent lug indicates that the closing machine is pressing the plug 30 too far down into its can 10. Either instance gives indication that adjustment of the closing machine should be made. It is unlikely, however, that the latter condition would occur because as a rule, the presser plate of a closing machine is spring-backed, and while it could exert sufficient pressure to permanently distort the throat 16 if the lugs 40 were not present, it is not apt to exert suflicient force to bend the lugs 42, or to collapse the can wall 11.

The lugs also prevent excessive distortion of the ring 13 after the can has been closed as during shipment and storage, when axial loads are exerted on the plug by the weight of cans supported above.

Distortion of the ring 13 is also prevented when the can is mounted on a shaker apparatus to mix the product. Such an apparatus generally grips the can with elements which clamp against the can ends so that one of the elements exerts a downward force on the plug 30. In the present can, the ring 13 will not be distorted and the clamping force will be transferred through the lugs 42 to the countersink wall 15 and can body 11.

It is readily apparent that the foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and that many modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A container comprising a can body, an annular ring joined to one end of the can body in a conventional double seam, a raised throat at the inner portion of said ring extending above said seam and providing a cylindrical friction wall, a plug, said plug comprising an annular wall fitting snugly inside of said friction wall, and a plurality of lugs projecting outwardly from said plug and overlying the top of said double seam when said .plug is fully seated on said ring to protect said friction wall from excessive distortion when an axial force is exerted on said plug.

2. The container defined in claim 1 wherein said plug further comprises an annular channel portion extending outwardly from said annular wall and adapted to engage the top of said friction wall when said annular wall is fully seated on said ring, and an annular skirt extending downwrdly, said lugs being formed in said skirt and projecting outwardly therefrom.

3. A plug for a container of the type having an annular ring joined to one end of the container in an end seam and having a raised throat extending above said seam, said throat having a friction wall at its inner Surface, said plug comprising an annular wall adapted to 'fit snugly within said friction wall, and a plurality of stop lugs extending outwardly from said annular wall to abut the top of said seam when said plug is pressed down upon said container.

4. A plug for a container of the type having a ring joined to one end of said container in an end seam, said ring having a raised throat extending above said seam to provide a friction wall at its inner surface, said plug comprising a recessed portion providing an annular wall to fit snugly within said friction wall of said throat, an outwardly extending annular flange portion merging with the top of said annular wall, an annular skirt merging with and extending downwardly from said flange portion, and a plurality of stop lugs, said lugs extending outwardly from said skirt and adapted to engage the top of said end seam when said plug is pressed down upon said container to stop the downward movement of said plug in time to prevent permanent distortion of said throat.

5. The plug defined in claim 4 wherein said lugs are formed in and merge with said skirt.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner. 

